Current Crisis Highlights Importance of Data

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Page 183

Anew head of the IMF's Statistics Department is taking over at a time of increased financial market turmoil around the world.

Adelheid Burgi-Schmelz, who until recently was Director General of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, is a leader within the international statistical community and has extensive private sector experience.

In an interview with the IMF Survey's Natalie Ramírez-Djumena, Burgi-Schmelz speaks about the use of statistics in shedding further light on the current financial crisis, the relevance in measuring national wealth, and what she views as her priorities as the new Director of the Statistics Department.

IMF Survey: Your previous assignment was Director General of the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. What prompted you to join the IMF?

Burgi-Schmelz: I enjoy the global perspective and appreciate the sound work the Fund is famous for delivering. Considering the present challenges both for the Fund and for the financial world, I am convinced that I can make a significant contribution based on my experience from heading a national statistical office and from my previous "real economy work" in the telecom industry.

IMF Survey: The current financial crisis has put major strains in financial systems that are of key relevance to the work of the IMF. How should the Statistics Department address some of these areas?

Burgi-Schmelz: The current financial crisis shows the limits of global financial and economic systems as they have evolved from national systems over the past decades. In my opinion, understanding the crisis might require out-of-the-box thinking. Since statistical work traditionally follows conventional data needs, it is not surprising that new needs arise that cannot be necessarily satisfied with wellestablished statistics, such as government guarantees. In the Statistics Department work is already under way on identifying the main data needs that cut across financial and nonfinancial corporations, government, household, and nonprofit institutions sectors. I also support the Statistics Department's efforts to intensify its close cooperation with other international financial agencies to build on one another's comparative advantages in this field.

IMF Survey: The widely used statistical indicator gross domestic product (GDP)- which measures economic growth-has been criticized for not capturing, for example, the effects on the environment.

Is GDP a satisfactory measure of economic progress?

Burgi-Schmel...